Boomers Remember -- TV Enters the Sixties: "Peyton Place"

Remember the wildly popular TV series "Peyton Place"?

Peyton Place shocked America with its tale of secrets, sex and hypocrisy in a small New Hampshire town.

The TV show was based on the novel "Peyton Place" written in the 50s.  The film helped paved the way for the abandoning of the Hollywood moral codes. It launched the careers of actors, Mia Farrow, Barbara Parkins and Ryan O'Neal.  It outraged the citizens of Gilmanton, New Hampshire —"the real Peyton Place." 

Author Grace Metalious

The author of the book "Peyton Place" (on which the TV show is based) was an unusual person, perhaps eccentric for her time, and perhaps a feminist.

Grace married her high school sweetheart, George Metalious, but she had dreamed of a different life for herself, a life of romance and adventure. She kept writing, even after giving birth to her third child.

Writing was her lifeline. Grace often locked her children out of the apartment so she could write.  In the end, she'd written a book. Grace discovered literary agent  by browsing through a library directory.   It was published and was a wild hit.

 

Watch archived TV show

 

Peyton Place indicted 1950s morality, and recast the concept of the soap opera.  In its first month, the book sold more than 100,000 copies, at a time when the average first novel sold 3,000, total. (Michael Callahan, 3/06 Vanity Fair)

 Overnight, Grace Metalious became wealthy.

Yet, with her ponytail, baggy flannel shirts, and jeans, Grace broke every mold of the prim New England country wife:

She was outspoken, a terrible housekeeper

(once, when some P.R. guys from New York came to visit, she grabbed what looked like a Brillo pad, only to discover it was a dead mouse).  She was also and shockingly well read. "She was a totally unbridled, free, glorious spirit.  (Vanity Fair, 3/06)

 Grace swore, a lot, and she drank, a lot, and she had lots of guys around her. She got married and divorced and had affairs. And she talked about sex and she talked about real life and she didn't filter it.  She quickly became a lightning rod for gossip.  The local wags said Grace had gone to the grocery store in a mink coat while naked underneath; she had greeted the milkman in the buff and her house was dirty.

The film adaptation of Peyton Place, was released in 1957, and received 9 Oscar nominations.

 Unfortunately, the author's life took a downturn in the subsequent years.  Drowning in booze and running out of cash, Grace agreed to write a sequel, Return to Peyton Place. She handed in 98 largely unintelligible pages that were re-written and fleshed out by a ghostwriter. The ensuing reviews, each more savage than the last, sent her spiraling further downward.  Grace died at the age of 39, perhaps from alcoholism.

Peyton Place, as Viewed Today

Today, the book "Peyton Place" appears on women's-studies curricula at universities. The book spoke about things that were not discussed in polite society, and allowed people to talk about all sorts of issues.

Screenwriter Foner Gyllenhaal sees Grace less as feminist icon than as unwitting trailblazer, and has framed the script for the upcoming film version of her life in those terms.

"I don't think she went out there to be a feminist," Foner Gyllenhaal says.

"I think she went out there to be a human being who wanted to live in a world where people weren't hypocritical and told the truth and stood by their actions. And in that regard I think she was innocent as well as brave."

  (Vanity Fair, Michael Callahan,  3/06)

Note:  Sandra Bullock is slated to star in the film "Grace" about the life of Grace Metalious, which is in-production.

Comments

[Robert DiLallo]

Our website is assembling first-person writings by Baby Boomers about their experiences. We are also developing a comprehensive timeline, the first installment of which - 1946 - is available for viewing. http://boomersrememberwhen.com/time-line/
We're looking for first hand, first person memories of growing up as a Boomer, coming of age, or how it has informed your adult life. It could be a magic moment listening to music. It could be your first job - or your last job. First car, first love, first house, first kid. If you hated being a Boomer, say it! What we're trying to accomplish is to get a rounded, human picture of the enormous, often stereotyped generation.

Reading the ABOUT tab should make it a little clearer:

http://boomersrememberwhen.com/what-were-about/

For the moment, please send short articles or comments – no more than 400 to 500 words to rdl114@aol.com.
If you have a photo of yourself at a relevant stage of life, please include it. Please include the locale of your story and the town or city you live in now, plus your age or date of birth.
We will publish your name as John D. or Mary S., not John Doe or Mary Smith.
Thanks very much!

[coach sale]

Do’t delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life and families;let's tell our families and friends how much we love them,It is very important!

[Brian]

Do you remember when the show closed they showed a man on a ladder in a library? Or am I just vrazy? Thanks

[Dina Eisenberg (@CuriousDina)]

Gosh, that brings back memories. My mom was a huge fan of All My Children. I grew up watching Erica Kane conquer men and the world; albeit a bit deceitful and selfish, she was a interesting role model who helped me have to confidence to master my own life.

Isn't it funny how media is one varying parable?

PS Any chance of getting on your blogroll? I'm a carnival member...